Maplewood Park

We headed to Maplewood Park with some friends to grill and play at the splash pad.  The weather was a little chilly...but kids don't care.  When we first pulled in the splash pad wasn't going.  We were afraid we were going to have some temper tantrums on our hands.  Come to find out, there is a sensor pad when you walk into the splash pad that turns them all on.  Whew.

Griffin teaching the littles bad tricks ;)

See?!  Once my monkey man sees someone do something once...it's all over.  He'll continue to do it again. And again. And again.

Jojo was trying to splash everyone..so Griffin came to help!

Adelyn trying to warm herself..

Attempting to splash Brecken..

Little Charlie got in on the action too!

So glad we got to go to Maplewood Park at least once this year!  Next year we will have to try harder to make it more often ;)

Our First Case..

...of the yucky pink eye.  I noticed, earlier in the day, that Adelyn had a big eye booger in her eye.  I thought nothing of it and picked it out.  I picked one out later in the afternoon and, also, thought nothing of it.  Then Eric told me he had done the same earlier.  Things started clicking into place and I looked for a red eye.  She still didn't have one but when I checked again in a couple hours it was definitely turning pink and the goop was starting to swim.  Pink eye.  Sweet.  I ended up taking her to the Urgent Care because it came on so suddenly and I wanted it under control.  While we were waiting Adelyn alternated between thinking it was hilarious and being horrified her "eye was green!"  I had just wiped her eye before the doctor came in and so he was initially thinking it wasn't that bad.  Even though I informed him I had just wiped it out..  Then he pulled her lid back and said "Oh.  I guess it is worse than I thought."  He did prescribe her some drops...that cost me 60 bucks.  Ugh.

Poor baby.  She healed quickly and there was no spreading of germs.  Hand wash, hand wash, hand wash!!!

Booberry Pickin’

I took the kids blueberry picking.  We.had.a.blast.  I went last Saturday, by myself, and everybody was so mad they didn't get to go.  So I decided to take them.  In true form, Brecken and Joelle spent more time eating than they did picking.  Adelyn is an excellent picker.  She has been such a big help.

Mr. B showing off his berries.

Adelyn has been super into crazy faces lately..

Ha!

And Joelle didn't want to look at me or smile for anything.  She actually picked quite a few berries...if I didn't mind picking out all the clumps of green berries she also picked;

This is all I got from her.

Adelyn and Brecken were "hiding."

I wanted to get a group picture.  But B wouldn't look for anything.  It's always gotta be someone..  The one on the right I said "Look at Daddy!"  Thinking they would look for him by me.  Nope.  B starts going the other way saying "Where's Daddy?  Where's Daddy?"  Oh well.  It's still cute.

 I'm surprised we got as many berries as we did!  But it's still never enough...when we have them, we fly through them.  Until next year.  YUM.

E’s 31st Birthday

I rolled out the big ones for Eric's 31st.  He has been commenting, for some time, that my monster cookies would make great ice cream sandwiches.  So, one afternoon close to his birthday, I busted out some cookies, stuffed them with ice cream and thought Adelyn would like to roll them in toppings.

The finished product.

VBS, at Calvary, is always the week of Eric's birthday.  He kinds gets the shaft.  I made it up to him this year.  His family had a family reunion this weekend and we had a cake that I never busted out at the reunion.  So we brought it home and the kids REALLY wanted to sing Happy Birthday to him.  So we obliged and he had to oblige by giving us some senior picture poses with his cake.

Daddy and his three babies.

Happy Birthday to the best daddy ever.

My Girl

Adelyn said to me "Let's take a picture!"  So I did.  And I love it.  And her.

Millennium Park

We headed to Millennium Park with some friends-we have never been!  I've always wanted to go but finally did this year.  (I didn't believe in water activities with the kids, last year).  It was SO nice.  The water was like bath water and the beach was awesome.  For whatever reason, there was nobody at the window so we didn't have to pay!  Double bonus.  I only had my cell phone so cell phone pictures it is.

Raking water.  That's how it's done.

Floating cuties.

Adelyn and Kaylee

Brecken and Joelle are far to brave with their floaties on.  They will venture anywhere.

We had a blast.  And had to promptly go out and buy ring floaties.  I never thought they would work for that age or that my kids would care, but they thought they were the coolest things ever.

Sleeping Beauty/Storm of the Summer

We headed out to bring my cousins our trailer this afternoon.  We are letting them borrow it for the week.  We got to Wabasis lake around 5 and started to set up shop.  It was probably one of THE hottest days of summer and to say I sweat my weight is a vast understatement.  Someone was watching the radar and a storm was coming.  A bad one.  We tried to get everything all set up before the storm hit.  We thought it would pass right over.  Nope.  So then began the run to the van so we could make it home.  I got all three kids buckled in the van and my stuff loaded up in the torrential downpour.  As I was buckling everyone and wiping them all off a HUGE flash of lightning and RESOUNDING thunder hit.  Seriously.  Right on top of us.  Turns out, not right on top of us but rather the trailer park.  We had just bought an extension cord for the trailer, which was getting soaked outside.  The power went off in the trailer and we were sure it was fried.  Since I couldn't do anything in the torrential downpour, my children were terrified in the van and Steve is quite the handy man I just decided to take off.  You don't NEED electricity while camping AND the AC still worked.

We got home around 10:30 and Eric thought I was off my rocker for wanting to give them a bath.  But they had just sweated like crazy, been soaked in a rain storm and splashed in the puddles.  They were taking a bath.

Adelyn found it optional.  She passed out on the bathroom floor.

Sweet sleeping girl.

We DID wake her for a bath.

Come to find out the trailer electricity wasn't fried.  The lightning had just hit something in the trailer park.